MarinIJ article by Chandra Alexandre and Omar Carrera
In the first peak of COVID-19 in July, Latinos in Marin County (most of whom reside in the Canal neighborhood of San Rafael) accounted for almost 80% of cases, while only comprising 16% of the overall population.
Among other factors, the shameful histories of racial segregation and redlining, unequal access to opportunities, failure of the education system to support students of color and brutal immigration policies created a context across interrelated economic and health crises in which our Latino community experienced the greatest impact.
In response, together with Stephanie Haffner from Legal Aid of Marin, we called forth the Marin County Pandemic and Latinos Task Force — a partnership of public, nonprofit and private-sector members. Together, we brought radical trust and a collective-impact approach to conversations focused on advocacy and policy to address urgent needs of Canal residents, while mindful that the whole county will benefit using this targeted strategy.
By specifically including and supporting local business recovery in our efforts, we believe that we can secure recovery that will endure beyond 2021.
